India Women 133 for 4 (Krishnamurthy 52*, Raj 46*, Selman 2-11) beat West Indies Women 131 (Aguilleira 42, Gayadwad 4-21, Bisht 3-14) by six wickets
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File photo: Veda Krishnamurthy and Mithali Raj helped India steer clear of a top order wobble © ICC/Getty Images
West Indies Women will have to wait until Sunday to give themselves a shot at securing the one win they need to earn a direct entry to the 2017 Women’s World Cup. Their first outing against India in Vijayawada was a forgettable won; they slumped to 132 all out before India’s captain Mithali Raj and Veda Krishnamurthy steered the hosts to a six-wicket win.
The pair’s unbroken fifth-wicket stand was worth 97 as India, who slumped to 36 for 4 in the 17th over, crossed the line with 65 balls to spare. Raj faced 91 balls and hit six fours in her 46 not out. Krishnamurthy brought up her third ODI fifty and was unbeaten on 52. The win was India’s seventh in 16 ICC Women’s World Championships matches. They are currently two points behind fifth-placed South Africa, and seven ahead of Pakistan.
Four of West Indies’ top seven, including Deandra Dottin, one of their most experienced batsman, were out in single digits after they elected to bat. The second-wicket stand of 37 between Haylely Matthews (24) and captain Stafanie Taylor (19) was the highest of the innings. But their dismissal to Ekta Bisht, the left-arm spinner, left West Indies precariously placed at 63 for 4. Merissa Aguilleira, the wicketkeeper, top scored with 42 not out to carry the batting amidst middle order collapse triggered by Rajeshwari Gayakwad, the left-arm spinner.
West Indies lost their last four wickets for 16, with Gayakwad finish with career-best figures of 4 for 21. Bisht, who bowled three maidens in eight overs, finished with three wickets, while Shikha Pandey, the seam-bowling allrounder, picked one wicket.
India, experimenting with a new opening combination in Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma, were rattled early as they slipped to 33 for 3. Mona Meshram, playing in her first ODI in more than three years, made 2 off 14 deliveries, before falling to Shakera Selman, the medium pacer. Harmanpreet Kaur’s dismissal for 1 meant West Indies had a glimmer of hope. However the experience of Raj prevailed in the end as she saw the side home in Krishnamurthy’s company.
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo